Jannik Sinner showed once again why he is so strong on hard courts during the Asian tournaments, beating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the China Open final for the third time in a row.
In the final, the four-time Grand Slam winner will face either 19-year-old American Learner Tien or former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
“I’ve got one night to rest, and I’ll be ready,” said Sinner. “Finals give you extra motivation and energy. I’m excited, finals are always special. It’s another great result for me this season. Let’s see who I’ll be playing.”
Sinner got off to a fast start, breaking De Minaur’s serve to take a 4-2 lead and then comfortably winning the first set. But the second set was more difficult, and he looked a bit tired at times. Still, he managed to level things at 3-3 and then 4-4 before De Minaur pushed through to win the set, only the second time he’s done so against Sinner.
In the final set, Sinner quickly broke serve in the first game and used that momentum to take control. He held his serve and kept the pressure on, eventually sealing the win and reaching his ninth straight final on a hard court.
“I think the match was played at a very high level,” said Sinner. “There were lots of long rallies and chances for both of us. I missed my chances in the second set, but he played better then. In the third set, I raised my game and broke him early. That helped my confidence. I’m very happy with how I played, it was a different kind of match than usual against him.”
